LEGO MARVEL SUPERHEROES: MAXIMUM OVERLOAD REVIEW

LEGO MARVEL SUPERHEROES: OMAXIMUM OVERLOAD REVIEW

Released today, November 6th, 2013 across various platforms such as Netflix, Youtube, Marvel.com and others, the LEGO Marvel miniseries is a series of 5 shorts, roughly about 5 minutes a piece. It comes hot off the heels of the recent LEGO Marvel Superheroes video game which hit cross-platform in late October.

The plot is a simple and fun set up for the series; cinematic fan-favorite villain Loki has gotten hold of some Asgardian magic which allows him to pretty much just throw snowballs at people to possess them. And so off Loki goes, taking over the minds and bodies of notable Marvel villains like Dr. Octopus, Venom, Abomination and others. Spider-Man is the heroic through-line, while we see bits of Thor, Iron Fist, Hulk, and Iron Man amongst others.

These shorts had me laughing from the first minute, right up until the very end. Whomever’s job it is to oversee the Marvel image on this game deserves a round of applause. Maximum Overload does a great job of realizing the Marvel characters in the LEGO fashion, letting the Heroes do cool superhero things while never failing to lovingly poke fun at the source material. The game pokes fun at everything from Spider-Man’s constant angst to the Mandarin’s notorious trailer voice.

Maximum Overload also looks fantastic. Animation is crisp and smooth, colourful and a lot of fun to look at. The show maintains the signature LEGO look, where you can see how almost every vehicle or building or character is actually constructed. But there are also some pretty impressive shots like Iron Fists glowing chi or the winter background in Asgard. The art and animation is sophisticated and easy enough to read and understand what’s happening on screen, without sacrificing he ability to pull of some fun and flashy shots.

I loved every minute of LEGO Marvel Superheroes: Maximum Overload, and couldn’t recommend it enough.